FermenTwin

guillaume.gautreau[at]inrae.fr

julien.tap[at]inrae.fr

FermenTwin : Using digital twins to predict the evolution of food microbiota during vegetal fermentation

The rising popularity of fermented vegetable juices for their taste, nutritional benefits, and potential probiotic qualities has led to an increased focus on understanding and improving their production processes. Our project seeks to deepen the understanding of these processes and improve industrial production efficiency and quality.

To achieve this, we will develop a fermentor digital twins - virtual models that replicate the fermentation process - to predict the behavior of microbial communities in real-time. This approach involves mathematical modeling to forecast changes in the microbial community and metabolism, especially in response to environmental shifts.

The project involves a collaborative effort with several partners:

• Guillaume Gautreau and Cyprien Guérin from INRAE MAIAGE unit are working on metagenomic data and developing mini-bioreactors for continuous microbial culture.
• Béatrice Laroche and Lorenzo Sala contribute to mathematical modeling of microbial dynamics and digital twin design.
• Étienne Dervyn, expert in genomic evolution in continuous microbial cultures.
• Simon Labarthe and Clémence Frioux provide expertise in mathematical modeling of microbiome metabolism, drawing from their recent work on a digital twin model for cheese fermentation.

This project aims to set a new standard in fermented vegetable juices production, focusing on quality and efficiency, by integrating cutting-edge digital and microbial technologies.

FermenTwin is funded by INRAE DIGIT-BIO